His Shining Star
by Herochick007
Summary: Luna finds herself in Azkaban, in the past, where a prisoner is begging for her to help him. All he wants is to say goodbye to his mother. How could she ever say 'no? Will this be her undoing, or the start of something even stronger. Warning: Mentions torture and abuse


**A/N: I don't own Harry Potter**

**This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry**

**Writing Club December**

**Amber's Attic: 16 -Lars Frederikson and the Bastards: Write about someone who has had a rough life (Bonus)**

**Scamander's Case: 27 - (quote) "All things truly wicked start from innocence." - Ernest Hemingway**

**Film Festival: 9- (action) crawling**

**Sophie's Shelf: Barty/Luna [******Bonus******]**

**Word count: 2312**

**Warning: mentions of torture and abuse**

The center stone of the pendant glowed. Luna's fingers brushed against it. It felt warm to the touch. Suddenly the room around her started to swirl. Her hand gripped the pendant as the walls fell away. Luna closed her eyes and hoped where ever she landed would at least be safe.

Luna became very aware that the world had stopped moving. She opened her eyes and looked around. She shuddered. She knew exactly where she was and Azkaban was most definitely not safe. Her fingers flew back to the pendant, but the stone had grown cold. It had been a one way trip apparently.

"One way," she whispered biting her lip. She was stuck here, at least she couldn't use the pendant to escape. Azkaban was not as bad as it had been. The dementors were gone, never to been again. She was certain they'd returned to their own world, or the Artic. They must have come from somewhere cold, somewhere covered in ice. No one had ever exactly questioned where they had come from, Luna knew most people just didn't want to think about them.

Slowly she took a few steps. She could hear the sound of something dripping. Her footsteps echoed as she walked. She paused for a moment, listening. She could hear the sound of screaming. Her heart started pounding loudly in her chest. After the war, Azkaban had been abandoned. There shouldn't be anyone here to be screaming. She hadn't just been transported in space, but in time as well. Taking a deep breath, she knew she couldn't just stand here and wait. If there were still prisoners here, there could still be dementors here. She shuddered again.

Luna made her way towards the center of the prison, out of the catacombs of tunnels. She knew she had no idea where she was actually going, but moving felt a lot better than standing still.

"Miss? Miss, please, help me!" a voice called. Luna followed it wondering how the person even knew she was a 'miss'. Maybe they had seen her shadow? Was this a good idea, people were here for a reason, weren't they? Luna found herself standing in front of a cell. The man inside watching her. His dark hair was plastered to pale face. His eyes had dark circles around them. From where she was standing, Luna realized his clothing, what was left of it, was baggy and filthy. Luna gasped. She'd heard horror stories about the prison, about how people were sent here to die, but she'd never dreamed how horrible it actually was.

"Please, Miss, you've got to get me out of here. I'm dying, you can see that? All I want is to say good bye to my Mother, please, Miss. You're not behind these bars, could you give a dying man his last wish?"

"I don't even know who you are, sir," Luna replied glancing around. She didn't see any guards. Something told her that this time, that was not a good thing. This man was dangerous, or at least, he had been at some point. But her heart twinged at the idea of a dying man being trapped here, unable to say goodbye one last time. She wished she had gotten a chance to say goodbye to her own mum.

"My name is Barty Crouch, my father was a ministry worker, he's the one who sentanced me here. I always was the black sheep of the family, Miss. He never agreed with anything I thought, wanted me to just follow his rules blindly. Is it any wonder I ran?" the man asked looking at Luna. She bit her lower lip. The ministry had been a horrid place, letting things happen, horrible things. She tried to remember if she'd ever heard this man's name before, but nothing came to mind.

"One night, that's all I'm asking, Miss, one night to say goodbye?"

"How would I even let you out, if I was going to? I don't have keys to the cells, I'm not a guard or anything, just a lost young witch. I don't even know for certain how I got here."

"That I can answer for you," he stated nodding to the pendant around her neck. "That is a powerful artifact, I've seen pictures in books. They call it the Eye of Gallifrey, it's supposed to be able to move the wearer anywhere, anytime, in the world."

"But why would it send me here?"

"To help me, possibly?" Barty suggested giving Luna a wane smile. She couldn't help but notice his teeth were mostly rotted away. She shuddered. How could someone be treated so horribly? It shouldn't matter how bad his crime, he was still a man, still a person!

"How do I get you out?" she asked, realizing before speaking that her mind was made up. This man deserved a chance to say goodbye to his loved one. Who was she to deny such a request?

"There's a set of keys that the guards use hanging over there," he said nodding towards a doorway. Luna could see the gleam of a coppery hook in the dim light.

"They leave them for you to see?"

"It's a form of torture, tempting us, teasing us, release so close you can taste it, but never reach it."

Luna growled. How dare they! How dare they treat this man, any of these men, like this. They were being treated worse than animals, at least animals wouldn't have realized the keys were in sight and their significance. Luna quickly grabbed the key ring. It was heavy. There were about fifty keys on it. It was then that Luna realized no one else was talking to her. The cells around Barty's were empty.

"Where is everyone else?"

"Gone, dead, somewhere else. They put me here in solitary because I dared ask to say goodbye."

Luna felt the rage swell in her chest. This was madness. She ran to the lock, found the key and opened the door for Barty. He limped out, barely able to hold himself upright. Luna wrapped an arm around his waist.

"How do we get out of here?" she asked. "I know there's dementors patrolling, I can feel them," she whispered. Barty nodded to a wall.

"There's a hatch, do you have your wand?"

"Yes," she stated drawing it.

"Alohamora," she whispered. The hatch creaked as she opened it. "Where does this lead?"

"The sea surrounding the island. I hope you can swim, Miss."

"I can, and it's Luna. My name is Luna Lovegood," she said as they crawled into the hatch. True to what Barty had said, it dumped them into the water. Luna pulled Barty to the surface and started swimming for the both of them.

Once they finally made land, she nearly passed out from the effort. Barty lay next to her on the sand.

"That's the first time in forever anyone has ever, ever done anything nice for me, Luna," he whispered. "Not even the Dark Lord cared enough about me to break me out."

Luna didn't flinch at the mention of He-who-must-not- be -named. She'd known Barty was most likely a Death Eater, but he was ill and she firmly believed in redemption.

"He's a madman, Barty. I know you must believe in what he says, but he's hurt friends of mine."

"I'm more than certain he's done more than that," Barty stated, a smile playing on his face. Luna sat up slowly watching him.

"Where does your mum live? We should get going. It's going to be dark soon and I don't know if I have the strength to help you for too long," she commented glancing out over the water. She was certain she saw a few trails indicating a flock of merglimers, but she didn't have time to invest that now. She made a note to return later, after she'd helped Barty. He was sitting up next to her, still looking weak, but slightly stronger. Getting him out of that cell and away from that horrible place was starting to help a little.

"Why did you do it, Luna? Why did you trust me?"

"Because I lost my mum when I was little, I wish I could have had a chance to say goodbye, of course, you could be lying to me. You could have just been saying pretty words to reach my heart and get me to let you out, but something told me that you do have some good in you. I know you're angry at your father. You'd like to get revenge on him. I know you probably joined the Death Eaters right out of school, or even in school, when it seemed like the whole world was against you. I'm willing to bet you never really had any friends, not ones you could trust."

"That still doesn't explain why."

"Because you need me," Luna answered. "Now, are we going to see your ill mum, or murder your father? He knew what Azkaban was like, right?"

"Yes. He knew."

"And he left you in there, to die like some sort of animal?"

"Yes."

"He deserves it then," she whispered. Barty blinked. Out of all the things, he'd expected from this girl, that statement was not one of them.

"My mother really is dying."

"Let's see her then, your father can wait. Merlin knows you waited," she said standing up and helping Barty to his feet.

"Will you be alright with along side apparation? It'll be the quickest way, just tell me where to go," Luna stated. Barty nodded whispering a location in her ear. She scrunched up her face and the pair were suddenly standing a few blocks from the house Barty had grown up in.

"Is this right? Are you alright?"

"Yes, to both," Barty answered. They walked, Luna helping Barty. A few times he nearly collapsed. Finally they reached the house.

"Should we knock?" Luna asked.

"No, my father will just turn us away. Winky!" Barty called. There was a faint 'pop' and then a house elf appeared. Luna smiled at the creature.

"Winky, this is Luna, she's the witch who helped me. Luna, Winky is my family's elf, well, more mine than anyone elses. Winky, I need to see Mother. Can you take me to her?"

"Yes, young Master, of course, and Miss Luna?"

Barty looked at Luna.

"Yes, and Miss Luna," he answered holding Luna's hand. "I would like Mother to meet the witch to whom I owe my life."

Luna felt her face flush as Winky studied her.

"Young Master has chosen well, she will make a lovely mistress," Winky stated taking both their hands.

Luna looked at the room. There was a large bed in the center, for a moment she thought it might be empty, that they were too late. Barty rushed to the bed and sat up the thin witch who had been sleeping. Luna took a few steps towards the bed. She didn't want to interrupt Barty's moment.

"Luna, come meet my mother," Barty stated. Luna walked over slowly. She had no idea why she was nervous, but she was.

"Mother, this is Luna. She helped me get out of Azkaban so I could see you," Barty stated. The witch looked up at Luna with watery eyes.

"Thank you," she rasped gripping Luna's hand with her near skeletal fingers. "Thank you for saving my boy, thank you for loving my boy," she whispered before laying back down. Luna bit back tears as she realized those had been Mrs. Crouch's last words. Barty gently closed his mother's eyes, tucked her back in and turned his attention to Luna.

"Now, it's Father's turn to see me," he stated with a smile, a slightly insane smile. Luna stiffened herself slightly. He was right. His father had known what would happen to his son in Azkaban, he knew Barty would die there, be abused, be mistreated, and left to die. It was time to bring this full circle. It was time to set Barty free entirely. As long as his father drew breath, the poor man would never be free to live, never be free of the horridness he'd been forced to endure.

"Let me, Barty," she whispered. "Let me avenge what he has done to you, please?" she asked. Barty smiled at her.

"You'd avenge me? You'd really murder him for what he's done?"

"For you, I would do anything," Luna whispered knowing the words were true. Barty kissed her on the lips. For a moment, it felt as though the whole world had stopped, and then started spinning with fireworks filling the sky. The kiss broke and Luna gave Barty a smile, a smile of innocence lost, a smile of someone who wanted nothing more than to right the wrongs.

"Where will I find him?"

"He'll be in his study, this way, Luna." The pair walked down a hallway. The walls were lined with pictures of Mr. Crouch, Mrs. Crouch, awards banquets. There were no pictures of Barty. Luna felt her rage swell again. How dare this man!

"We're here," he stated pointing to a solid wooden door. Luna raised her hand and knocked.

"Yes?" a voice asked from inside.

"Father," Barty said. They heard a 'thunk' from inside and the door flew open. Luna stared at the man who had nearly destroyed Barty. He didn't look like much to her. She raised her wand. Barty put his hand on hers. Their eyes met.

"Avada Kadeva!" they exclaimed together as Mr. Crouch fell to the floor in a flash of green light. Luna turned to Barty.

"France is nice. They'll be looking for us, we should take a holiday there."

"Absolutely, come, Luna," Barty said offering his hand. She took it and they vanished from the Crouch household leaving only death in their wake.


End file.
